1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable electronic apparatus such as a notebook personal computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), and the like. In particular, the invention relates to an electronic apparatus comprising: an enclosure; an internal component, such as a hard disk drive (HDD), contained within the enclosure; and a shock absorbing unit attached to the internal component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, a notebook personal computer includes a shock absorbing member sandwiched between an internal component, namely, a built-in HDD and the inside surface of the wall defining an internal space for accommodating the built-in HDD, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-242881. The shock absorbing member serves to absorb an impact acting on the external housing of the notebook personal computer. The built-in HDD can thus be protected from the impact.
In the aforementioned Laid-open No. 11-242881, the shock absorbing member is adhered directly on the wall defining the internal space for the built-in HDD. Accordingly, when the shock absorbing member is to be exchanged, it is troublesome to remove the old shock absorbing member from the wall and to restore the clean surface of the wall, for example, by removing an adhesive remaining on the wall.
As shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-177261, the shock absorbing member may be separated from the external housing of the electronic apparatus and the built-in HDD, respectively. Such separation is supposed to eliminate the aforementioned troublesome operations at the exchange of the shock absorbing members. In this case, the shock absorbing member comprises a pair of halves sandwiching the built-in HDD. The built-in HDD should be kept between the unsteady halves when it is installed between the external housing and the cover. Accordingly, it is very troublesome to exchange the built-in HDDs although the exchange of the shock absorbing members can be effected in a facilitated manner as compared with the art disclosed in the aforementioned Laid-open No. 11-242881.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a shock absorbing apparatus for an internal component designed to be installed in an electronic apparatus, capable of contributing to an efficient and facilitated operation in exchanging a shock absorbing member and the internal component.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising: an enclosure; an internal component; a fixation member stationary on the internal component; an erect plate continuously extending from the fixation member so as to stand on an outer surface of the internal component; a shock absorbing member disposed on front and back sides of the erect plate; a receiving section disposed in an internal space within the enclosure so as to receive the shock absorbing member on the back side of the erect plate; and a holder member disposed on the shock absorbing member on the front side of the erect plate so as to hold the erect plate as well as the shock absorbing member between the receiving section and the holder member itself. The shock absorbing member may be an elastic thin piece or leaf in the electronic apparatus. Moreover, the fixation member may be detachably attached to the internal component.
Otherwise, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electronic apparatus comprising: an enclosure; an internal component received within an internal space defined in the enclosure; a fixation plate superposed and detachably fixed on the outer surface of the internal component; an erect plate continuous from the fixation plate so as to stand on the outer surface of the internal component; a pair of elastic leaves superposed and adhered on front and back sides of the erect plate; a stationary support disposed in the internal space so as to receive the elastic leaf on the back side of the erect plate; and a holder member disposed on the elastic leaf on the front side of the erect plate so as to hold the erect plate as well as the elastic leaves between the stationary support and the holder member itself.
A combination of the internal component, the fixation plate, the erect plate and the elastic leaves is allowed to establish an internal component assembly or unit in the electronic apparatus of this type, for example. The holder member serves to hold the internal component assembly within the internal space of the enclosure. When an impact acts on the enclosure, the impact can reliably be absorbed at the elastic leaves before the impact is transmitted to the internal component, the fixation plate and the erect plate from the holder member and the stationary support. Accordingly, the internal component can be protected or separated from the impact or vibration. Moreover, the internal component assembly as a whole can be handled in a facilitated manner as compared with the case where the internal component, the fixation plate and the erect plate are separately handled.
In addition, a combination of the fixation plate, the erect plate and the elastic leaves is also allowed to establish a shock absorbing unit in the electronic apparatus. Such a shock absorbing unit can be attached to or detached from the internal component as a whole in a relatively facilitated manner. Accordingly, the operation can be facilitated in exchange or replacement of the internal component. When the elastic leaves are to be replaced with new ones because of the deterioration and/or the damage of the elastic leaves, the shock absorbing unit as a whole may be replaced with a new one without unsticking the elastic leaves from the erect plate. It is possible to eliminate a troublesome operation including wiping an adhesive remaining on the surface of the enclosure, for example. The replacement of the internal component and/or the shock absorbing member such as the elastic leaves can be facilitated in this manner.
In particular, the aforementioned shock absorbing unit may be employed to protect an internal or built-in hard disk drive (HDD) within a notebook personal computer, for example. The shock absorbing units are attached to the outer surface of the HDD so as to hold the HDD therebetween. The erect plates of the respective shock absorbing units may stand on the outer surface of the HDD in an upright attitude, for example. In this case, it is preferable that the total thickness of the erect plate and the elastic leaves on the erect plate is set smaller than the thickness of the HDD. Such a smaller thickness enables a reliable shock absorption without an increase in the thickness of the HDD. It should be noted that the shock absorbing unit can be employed to protect any type of an internal component in addition to the aforementioned HDD within the enclosure of the electronic apparatus such as a computer.